REVIEW: Save the Date by Mallory Kass

In Save the Date by Mallory Kass, Marigold is known by millions of people as a social media influencer and has a reputation for being the fun party girl who flits about the globe on a whim. But what people don’t know is that she just wants to be in a steady relationship that helps make her feel like the adult she is. Marrying Jonathan, a successful doctor, will hopefully accomplish that. Of course, their wedding couldn’t go off without a hitch, though. It seems that Marigold’s impetuousness four years ago has caught up with her. And she’ll need to fly to Canada to set things right while somehow making it back to Sandpiper Island in Maine with enough time to get married.

Marigold’s best friend, Natalie, is in a predicament of her own making. Trying to keep the bridal party on task is difficult enough as the maid of honor, but pair that with her long-time inconvenient feelings for Jonathan–you know, her best friend’s fiancé–and it’s all she can do to hold it together. When the bride-to-be disappears and everything descends into chaos, Natalie will have to step in without letting on where Marigold is or that she’s fighting her own feelings to pull off the wedding event of the season.

As the older sister, Olivia is used to having to stay ahead of Marigold’s flights of fancy and must be in “fixer mode” most of the time. Especially with their mother’s health failing. But she’s also keeping an eye on one of the guests, a man she’s been interested in for a while. Olivia is usually good at reading people, thanks to her training as a lawyer. Although, she might have misread the situation. And the solution could come from fake dating a man who annoys her as much as he challenges her. Someone Olivia has never really taken seriously–until he steps in to save the day multiple times. Something she didn’t expect but appreciates, causing her to rethink her views on the charming academic just in time to salvage the wedding weekend.

“Sometimes looking for love feels like sending radio waves into the darkness of space–you can go years without any response, and then just when you start to wonder if we really are alone in the universe, you hear that voice. That someone who’s tuned to your exact frequency.”

A multiple POV rom-com where the Maine island setting was as wild and unpredictable as the characters were, SAVE THE DATE was a madcap adventure centered around a wedding that ran into trouble at every turn. Author Mallory Kass’s adult fiction debut had an intriguing cast–including some fantastic heroes–and numerous situations that felt reminiscent of Jill Mansell, Sophie Kinsella, and Sarah Morgan. In other words, it was a bit chaotic but in the funniest and most entertaining of ways for her readers.

I’ll admit that of the three POVs–Marigold, Natalie, and Olivia–I wasn’t entirely sure about Olivia and Marigold at first as they seemed rather self-absorbed. But this was a story that built momentum over time and brought out the reasons why each person was wrapped up in their own drama. And it made sense, given what they were each going through. By the end, I was fully sold on Marigold and Olivia, as well as Natalie, and loved the sendoff they all received. Some of it was bittersweet, particularly since the two sisters had to come to terms with their mother Lulu’s ailing health. But Kass even added in a sweet romantic moment just for Lulu and her husband Bill that made me teary-eyed and will likely be a favorite scene for most readers.

Tropes/Themes:

• Rom-com
• Destination wedding
• Family saga
• Multiple POVs
• Slow burn romance
• Fake dating

CW: View Spoiler »Terminal illness (somewhat detailed), love triangle (no cheating) « Hide Spoiler

If you enjoy romances with multiple character threads that are intricately woven together, all with their own unique situations and emotions, then SAVE THE DATE will be a great addition to your Springtime reading list.

QOTD: If given the opportunity, would you travel to an island (Maine or elsewhere) for a destination wedding?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: April 14th, 2026 | Atria Books |

A romantic comedy of manners about a lavish wedding weekend gone very, very wrong with the slow-burn romance of Emily Henry and the fizzy humor of Sophie Kinsella.

The Beautiful, seemingly carefree Marigold is tired of being treated like a shallow it-girl. That’s one of the many reasons she’s excited to marry Jonathan—the handsome, kind, respectable doctor of her dreams. So when a shocking secret from her past threatens to ruin her wedding, she’ll do anything to make it disappear…even if it means tracking down a man she vowed to avoid forever.

The Maid of As the bride’s best friend, all Natalie wants is for this wedding to go off without a hitch. There’s only one Natalie has secretly been in love with the groom since college. When Marigold disappears, Natalie is forced to ask whether she can keep burying her feelings for the sake of friendship…or if she’s ready to risk everything to pursue her own happy ending.

The Olivia has spent her life cleaning up Marigold’s messes. So she’s determined to keep the wedding on track for the sake of their mother, who’s battling cancer and longs for one last perfect weekend. But when Jonathan’s best man—a prickly academic with a heart of gold—ropes her into a fake dating scheme, sparks unexpectedly fly. Will Olivia sacrifice her own happiness again, or could this fake relationship turn into the truest choice she’s ever made?

Heartwarming, hilarious, and sparklingly romantic, Save the Date will have you cheering for love in all its messy, unexpected glory.